Irken Elite
by Irken PopTart
Summary: You are Elite. You have survived, and for this, you must fight. Fight for those weaker than youself...And for our Future.
1. Twisted Perception

General Warning:

This is placed into the 'Romance' Catagory. For those of you who are expecting a mass amount of fluff, I'm very sorry to dissapoint. You might also notice that this is placed under Tragedy. IE. Romance- A long medieval narrative in prose or verse that tells of the adventures and heroic exploits of chivalric heroes: _an Arthurian romance._ Also- A long fictitious tale of heroes and extraordinary or mysterious events, usually set in a distant time or place. And of course, Tragedy-A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.

Keep this in mind as you read through this fiction, and please understand that it won't be your normal drivel. This is an attempt to stick to those old world fanfics, alue of Mouko, Arm&Leg, or HopelessParanoidRomantic... Bonnie, and CG. It deals heavilly with all the stuff that sends it into the Mature catagory. So don't complain if you don't like it.

This also features fan-created characters, which are my own, while of course, Irkens in general are (C) to he who made them, and I'm sure we all know just who THAT is. Furthering this, I do request, as -everyone- does... That you review, leave comments, and tell me exactly what you think of my works. I appreciate it greatly.

Also, in hopes of making it easier to understand scene transistions, a Statement will be made inbetween scenes.

Thank you for these moments of your life...

Zamri

Welcome, and congratulations.

You have been chosen, as one of the few, one of the Elite...

Years before, Opperation Impending Doom 2 was a brilliant success, and the empire brought many planets to thier demise, paving the way for mega-malls, high scale fashion boutiques, grand librarys, and a short-lived ammusement park. Regaurdless, the Tallests took heart in thier victory, as well as the amazing fact that Zim had nothing to do with any of it. A time of relaxation was declared...

But not everyone was happy. Irk is dying, over-crowded, angry subjects start fights in the streets, living conditions are terrible, and the increase in 'defective' irkens grows dramaticlly every day. The Armada's soldiers and pilots have become lazy, newer cadets lax on thier training... Eight years of doing nothing, Eight years for the others to plan in the shadows...

Eight years is a very long time...

Just enough time for the empire to fall.

It was impossible, completely impossible for such a thing to happen, for a tightly knit hive, which held power over most the known universe to collapse in on itself so quickly, so easilly. But it happened. The Resisty, once a comical farce of opposistion had proved to grow, and continue becoming strong, while the irkens grew lazy. Gaining allies, creating pacts, a Galatic Alliance, intent on obliterating the Irken race, as it had done to so many others... Genocide was the only fitting punishment... Ties with the mother planet had become weaker, so it was no surprise that word of the destruction there took two weeks to reach the Massive... Smeeteries destroyed, the death toll was astounding...

Maybe the problem wasn't in the delay of the message, but with exactly who delivered it.

It can be a hard blow to know you've lost so much... but when your enemy is the one telling you... And when they continue with a strike that had never been expected, it's surprisinglly easy to loose so quickly... Captives taken, most either considered too mundane to destroy, or perhaps too valuable, and needing to be held for punishment. The whispers of the acts taken apon those in higher posts were sometimes too ghastly to comprehend. Two more years would pass before today, and during this time, rumors abounded that somthing went wrong within the prison systems... That one of the highest security captives had escaped...

It wasn't long after before every irken with violet eyes was targeted for execution... Whispers turned into roars, loyalists screamed that perhaps the 'great' Tallest Purple had escaped the clutches of the Alliance... But if this was so, why was this variable 'god' not doing anything? And what of Red? ...More so... What of Zim?

What indeed.

Ten years in the future, Zim is still carrying on his battle with that infuriating human known as Dib, completely uninformed of the Empire's demise. ...Maybe the note was lost in the mail... Maybe Gir forgot to tell him... Maybe he just didn't listen. Reguardless, wars and revoloutions raging in the stars, a cat and mouse game still being carried out on Earth...

It calls only for the Elite... They alone will determine the future of the irken race... Pray to the Green Monkey the right decision is made.

End Prolouge

Life and Death

She had laughed her whole way to this wretched place, at her own foolishness, at the general ironic nature of the entire situation... Her laughter continued to echo off the walls, it's maddened tone ringing in the ears of her captives...

It wasn't long before the laughter stopped dead... Looming over her in threads of blue and green, he glowered, clearly not pleased with her simple existance...She herself only gawked, before a queer sort of smile graced her lips... "...I thought they were wrong... I never thought that you...of all beings would have done such a thing..." A light-hearted giggle... "And to your OWN! Brilliant! You really -are- quite mad!"

She had forgotten how quickly irkens could move when they had a means too, and tried not to let all the air in her lungs escape as she was snapped up into claws that held an eerie familiarity... Deep in her mind she wished to pry into his, to tear him apart from the inside and see just how he had twisted, contorted into this creature before her... Analytical as she was, she couldn't even see the resemblence anymore, the sweet natured, paranoid young male she knew was gone forever.

His voice, one which had once been a pleasure to hear, was little more than a breathy hiss, his eyes cold and dark, almost dead... Her ear-bows swiveled upword, struggling to catch each inflection in the words, seeking a window to the feral creature before her. "YOU are the one who is mad. Not I. You and the rest of the RATS...scurrying about like the vermin you are, thinking you can destroy as you please... Look NOW who has that ability. They can crush you, as you have crushed them... All of your existance will end swiftly... Only handfuls remain now..."

Dropping the woman to the ground, he turned, ragged cape swirling around his heels. "You were hard to catch Zamri... Harder than most... I can't understand why you ever held such precidence over the way things were... What happened to you, wretched little tart, to make you no more than the gibbering idiot you have become? Do you know how far you degenerated? You had the respect and admiration of billions... Your breakthroughs in technology kept the empire flourishing in times of great peril... Did your own brilliance cause your madness? You always thought freely Zam, was that it?" She could feel him smile, dark and cruel...

"I could ask you the same smeetling..." Her wods had never been chosen carefully, and she had no intention now of worrying... It was the way she worked, detatched, impassionate. "I never believed the whisperings... An irken itself at the very heart of trechory... It makes perfect sense... The communications patch, the signals for help... They were never recieved, because-"

"I blocked them..." He turned his head, and she narrowed her eyes as eight mechanical legs emerged from his PAK... Death on eight legs... He really was what they said... A spider, a dark cruel thing, spinning webs out of hate and vengence, building his trechory from the inside out, trapping every innocent or no in it's sticky threads. "You're right... The resistance had become somthing amazing... But for all thier plans, all the preperation, they had no way to get past the defenses... Even lazy and fat, the Irkens would have found a way to rise against them..."

"Unless they were caught completely off-guard..."

"Brilliant tactician...You're mother had the same qualities..."

He sneered at her again... "The organic sweep had already been carried out by the time I delivered the message for the smeeteries to the Tallest... Nothing would have ever been left to save if they had tried... But by then, I had already allowed the Alliance it's access..."

"And in turn they gave you power? What will you do, turn against them? Are you out to rule the universe like those before you? She raised a brow, as he turned completely, grey eyes gaining a fire like she'd never seen... "They took everything... The irken race takes the life from everything they touch... The only way to stop it... Stop this pain... is to destroy them... For Cael...For my Flower..." He stalked twoards her, Four of the eight spider legs on his back twitching spazticlly...

"But they will not die...Because the irken race can survive anything...ANYTHING! I'll survive... You see, that's how it works... I'm going to live, and watch the bodies rot around me, have the scent of blood fresh in my antennae... But this time...On my terms...This time..." Her ears swiveled back, flattening against her head... It was this...? This was his reasoning? An empire felled out of madness caused by love for the dead!

She knew of the farce, knew of the pain that had ebbed within the irkens mind for years, years being ignored, pushed aside... She had helped cause that pain, she had been in charge of building that ship, those weapons... She had been responsible for a generation lost, for Tsier's pain... But he had healed... She watched him heal, brought out of his shell by a mechanic with terrible taste in clothing... What could have happened that she wasn't seeing?

Where was the missing piece of the puzzle?

For all of her life she had never known fear... Not during Spork's tantrums, Red's fits of laser wielding, or countless incidents with unruly projects... But this irken seemed to be teetering on the verge of a madness she herself had only begun to broach. "Irk...You should see it now... The cities... Just yards and yards of bones... Nothing exists to destroy the world ever again..." He let out a chuckle... "But the countryside... It -flourishes-! In only two years, the planet has regenerated itself! Plants the likes of which you could never imagine... Beautiful... They would have loved to see it...Loved to see such life..."

"...But you...you could be a problem Zam... You've helped them before... Made things, amazing things... I know you did it for him...for others... The Patch was hard to bring down Zamri..."

She felt herself being backed into a corner, nervouslly watching the twitching, twisted scraps of metal that should have no possibility of functioning any longer... But the name brought her to a start... "Oh indeed...We have it...your twisted perception of genetic and mechanical... Perhaps you'll get to see it again before you die... But it's not the Patch that has me concerned..."

"I want T.H.A.N."

Fear began to well up within her chest... She felt alive, for moments, the likes of which she had not had since she was young, the small irken woman felt more alive than she had been before, knowing easilly that he could sense her fear, taste it, smell it...Even with one antennae, the senses of the old warrior were tuned to a scalpels edge... "What does it do Zamri...? Why was it so important...so critical that you whisk that one, out of the hundreds of useful toys you created, away...? What in that file exists that could possibly be so important...?"

She closed her eyes, feeling ice around her, closing her into a trap from which there would be no route to escape... "Life..." She whispered quietlly... "The irken race...will never die... Not so long as the knowledge exists... Not as long as it is there to be harnessed..." Her eyes snapped open again, and she drew in a sharp breath, slowly looking down to the contorted spider leg that now sprung from her chest...

"Tell me...Tell me what it is..." He hissed breathilly, moving closer to her, pinning her to the wall...

Choking on the pain, she dangled above the floor, feeling too much like one of her many specimens back home... Home...On a ship in a time long ago, with her twisted family, and her science, and her lonliness... Home with the madness, the ebbing pain in her head... "Cookie..."

He blinked in surprise, narrowing his eyes, "-What-?" Raising her head, the engineer smiled, a trickle of plum-colored blood escaping the corner of her mouth...

"I wish for a cookie..."

The legs twitched.

Zamri screamed.

To Calculate Madness

The tall irken moved swiftly down the hall from the room, trailing sticky purplish black fluid behind him, anger building up within him for each step he took... How dare she, how -dare- that little wretch mock him so! It was dangerous, and it should never fall into the hands of any creature... It needed to be destroyed. All of it.

Throwing open the doors to a central chamber, he startled a group of technicians, and diplomats, visting the facility from the Alliance. "FIND IT!" he screamed furiouslly, swirling round on the nearest tech.

"I want that file in my claws IMMEADIATELY! I don't care what has to be done, NONE of you are to rest until Project THAN is in the Alliance's hands! I will NOT be bested by the dead! FIND ME THAT FILE! Books, Parchment, Discs, Art, Programs, I want all of it OBLITERATED! NOTHING is to remain! There will be no trace, nothing to prove that an Empire such as that which is gone ever took the stars."

He clenched his fist, snarling to himself... "I will not...let them live."


	2. Present's Past

General Warning-

Same as in previous chapter, I'll conclude that you've read that, and I have no need to reiterate. Please note that this IS a fan-verse, and in that sense, things aren't what you would normally gather in the Cartoon.

_Shadows and Screams_

Laid out in a bed much to small for a creature his size, with legs hanging off the end, he stared into the dark, knowing sleep would not come for him... It never came. Running through his head were memories he long had wished to be rid of, pain from wounds long healed over, sounds replayed, screaming and death clouded the vision he no longer had...

Sitting up once again, he tentatively placed a claw over the gaping hole that served as his left eye socket, tracing the scars around it, then moving to trace the twisted stalks that were his antennae... To his shoulder, fingering the heavy fabric of the sleeve which hung useless at his side... Ache set in again, the soft pounding in his head, and heavy cold in his hearts as he rose to stalk the halls...

They were on 'Red Majesty' one of the finest ships to exist in the era of the empire... Now, she was run down and barely managing to get them moving in one direction or another. In the dim lighting of the halls, Laivien was aware that he looked more fearsome than usual, and wondered if perhaps this was the real reason why the ship seemed to die at these hours... The crew was aware of his walks, listening to ghosts, and chasing shadows...

Most of them had decided long ago he was mad... It didn't surprise him really, some didn't even know he existed... Not that he minded that.. It was better this way... Better? Ridiculous notion... How could it have been better to hide in the corners of dead ships like vermin in holes? He scoffed at himself... Years ago, his pride alone would have kept him from such. But pride brought death here... And he was not now, anything as he had once been.

"Less than half of what I used to be..." He had stopped here again... This room he had deemed unfit for use... It was a greedy claim... But the only one he would retain, giving all else to any that needed it...

This however...This room, still charred from when attempts were made to destroy it, with it's ruined furniture and stacks of useless documents... With it's broken, once luxurious bed, this one alone fit to his height... This room, with these ancient weapons, fallen to the floor from thier places on the walls... With it's precious contents... Memories -were- precious to him, if not painful. Shutting the door behind him, he made his way to the bed, and lay across it, unconcered with the lack of comfort.

"Damn you..." He whispered, gathering the ruined cloth into his arm against his chest, burrying his face into it, and trying to catch a scent that had left it's mark so long ago... "Damn you..." His shoulders quaked, trying to stop the tears that he knew would come. The soft fabric of the robe stood against him in stark contrast to his own tattered clothing... Red... Brilliant red...under dying purple.

"And damn me too..."

_Action and Consequence_

"Are you suggesting what I think you are? Do you -really- expect me to just wave my hands and pardon those -monsters-?"

The young warrior had his head bowed, mildly ashamed that he had broached this subject... "No high-counciler... I merely wished to explore the notion that perhaps we ourselves are going a bit far in the vengance wreaked apon those who were inno-"

"Innocent?" The youth flattened his ears suddenlly, and the gathered council became eerily quiet...

Knowing he had the floor, this newcomer played his part to a flourish. With an easy stride, he walked around the young Ki'rin, before stopping to look up at the council themselves. "No irken... Not one...Is ever truely innocent... Even as children, they'll sooner slaughter one another than work together...You made a viable point... The irkens which remain are in a weakened state, battered, beaten...Some..." he paused, and rounded again on the youth... "Have gone mad..."

The boy dared to raise his eyes, setting them on the imposing figure before him... Tall and lanky, the male was dressed in a tattered Invader uniform, in varrying shades of blue... Old stains still coated it's cloth... Finally raising his head to meet the gaze of the irken, who smiled down at him as if he were a piece of meat, he wondered why they had taken a risk such as this one, allowing this madman before him so much power...

"You can never trust an irken to stay down once they have fallen... It's remarkable really... They seem to ...survive anything..." Here he laughed, and turned to flash a dark grin at the representatives for the Jacker-sector. "You may cut one down...Blind it, deafen it...You can silence them, cripple them... Tear out every last strength they have... But if you leave them breathing..."

He began now to walk from the hall, having said his way, and being assured that his point was made... "They will destroy you... Completely."

It was a silence that hung heavilly over the gathered council, the speaker in the center floor clenching and unclenching his hands, using every once of his patience to be still. Trained as a warrior, and an honorable one, he cursed the irken, the only creature ever to test his patience...And the patience of this Ki'rin was near legendary... He rose, and gazed levely at each of the gathered aliens, tail lashing about at his furred heels.

"You fear him."

This accusation was a harsh one, and he knew it would be one that could ultimately cause an uproar, but those gathered seemed to have no response to his words... He scowled, ears moving forward. "You've made a pact with the devil, and now you find there is no way you can make forgiveness for your actions... This Alliance, this group, and these people we represent. This council was built on a wish for -peace-. On desires stemmed for freedoms and equalities throughout the galaxies..."

He stamped one of his hooves, the clack of it echoing in the marble chamber. "But now we've become no better than the creatures we set out to stop! This is NOT justice council! It is no less than torture! And you...The lot of you fools...You've set a madman at it's helm, one who terrify's you still. If you, Great and -Merciful- Council..." He spat the words from his mouth, as if they garnered a foul taste. "Fear the very creature on who's shoulders you have placed so much pain, and given so much power too... Then perhaps you should hire one of the Mercenaries...I'm sure my most beloved council, that by now, Assasination is anything but beneath you."

And then, whirling about, the unicorn moved from the chambers, leaving behind him those he deemed unfit for his presence...

He would curse to himself as he went down the hall, tail thrashing wildly about him, the crystaline horn in the center of his forehead giving off a vibrant glow. This was not acceptable, these things should have never come to pass...He slowed as he walked, the anger washing off of him like a wave, being replaced by the eerie calm his kind was so known for... And it was this reason that he did not jump, as the spider came behind him, pulling him tight to it's chest, arm around his throat, ragged breath in his ear...

"You've been getting very bold Yiven-koushi... Four years ago you would do not but bow your head, and now you stand almost ready to draw your blade..." The prince scowled softly, pulling his head away from the irken's...

"You cause me a great deal of illness Eminence... Release me." It took all his will to not shudder as the segmented tounge traced across his cheek, before the irken released him... He refused to turn his head, but knew his enemy was smiling at him.

"Koushi...You know this is a battle you cannot win... The Irken race will die...You only prolong thier suffering with your pleadings to the council...it would be wise of you to stay concerned only with your own people... It would certainlly be better for your health..." The grey eyes gleamed as they watched the younger male bristle, knowing that in his youth, he was still brash...Would still make mistakes...

"Do take care not to threaten me Eminence..."

He would make mistakes...But not this time...

_Forgoe Past for Future_

"LALA!"

This early on Majesty, things were still beginning to wake up, irkens getting ready for thier day, yet another long process of trying to repair broken technology, organizing raids on ships soon to pass through the quadrent, and simply getting through it all alive was heavy on thier minds... ...Most of them anyhow... One however, greatly unconcerned with the war which raged on around him or the precariousness of the situation, was a young ruby-eyed smeet, currentlly bent on tearing up the halls as he ran through them, nearly knocking over another irken with eyes just a shade above orange...

Falling backword, clumsy on his gangly legs, the boy looked up, ready to yell at whoever had been in his way, when his antennae dropped slightly... The other irken, trying to stay balanced, looking more than a little heavy with egg, and balancing a tiny smeet in his arms, finally gave up to lean against the wall... The older smeet laughed, rubbing the back of his head abscentlly... "Sorry Wyl...I was lookin for Lala...Have you seen him?"

Still appearing bewildered, the former guard only shook his head, and watched as the smeet was up and running again, calling back his thanks... Looking down to the little green eyed girl in his own arms, he lowered an eyelid. "...Let's just hope you don't start that anytime soon..." Antennae perked again, as someone else came down the hall, looking exaughsted... Smiling pleasentlly at the former Invader, Wyl nodded in the direction of the rampaging toddler. "Went thata-way."

Skoodge also called back a greeting, and resumed the pursuit of his charge. Wyl shook his head, as his daughter simply yawned.

The boy, unconcerned with the short adult trying to chase him down, weaved his way through the halls, avoiding another collision with any of it's occupants, apologizing on the way after knocking over various things, but still too concerned with his destination. His momentum however was a bit much, as he had no way of stopping once he reached the door... Of course, the sound of his collision onto the room's floor woke up it's occupant...

Lavien sat up abruptly, startled by the clang, the whoosh of the door, and further, the thump that followed. His twisted antennae rose, as he turned to look at the smeet on the floor, ammusement barely flickering across his face... "Crimson.." he spoke gently... "I've told you not to run in the halls..." Righting himself, and proving that he seemed to have an endless amount of stamina -and- endurance...Or at least enough to stay concious after running into blunt objects, the smeet made his way over, and crawled into bed with the older irken, settling quickly into his lap, against his chest, and fiddling with the hollow sleeve...

Sighing, the older irken slipped an arm gently around the smeet, as it explained in it's own defense... "You weren't in your room Lala...So I knew where you'd be... Skoodge said not ta disturb you... but I didn't listen." Blinking his good eye, and perking his antennae a moment, Lavien chuckled, before leaning down to nuzzle at the top of Crimson's head.

"Quite obviouslly..." He held the boy a bit tighter, letting his eye fall shut... The smeet clicked softly, snuggling into him, sensing the change in mood... Both irkens broke from thier train of thought as Skoodge came, panting down the hall, stopping to rest, exaughsted at the door...

"I'm sorry sir... He...he's fast for a kid..." This brought a cheeky grin to Crimson's face, as he only snuggled closer to Lavien, who nodded gently... Skoodge smiled weakly, and slipped backwords through the door, closing it behind him, and leaving the two to themselves. It didn't matter how much energy he had just wasted trying to track the toddler down, he knew the smeet needed time with Lavien, and moreso, Lavien needed Crimson. That little boy, Barely three years old, was the cause, and reason for the resistance...

It was that little boy, with his dark ruby colored eyes, and charming smile, who kept his Commander alive, and gave him reason to keep fighting. It was only for a smeet Lavien would slip back into reality, away from the pain, out from the shadows of ghosts from the past, and connect with the waking world. Never for himself, But for the future... So they would have a future... Everything was set for the future... Everything...

For his son.


	3. Haunted

In regaurds to my first review, left by our dear Ms./Mrs? Blair... I just wanted to tell you how absoloutely honored I was to recieve your comments. Now, mind you dear... I have indeed been damned, but I'm afraid that I can't really be damned TO hell, because I already own some nice property right beside the lake of fire! I'm going to guess, or -pretend- that your statements were made in jest, because as far as flames go, that was just... Sad. Come ON baby, you can certainlly do better than that!

However, I most assuredlly adored the fact that correct spelling... Mostly... with the exception of 'cuz' was used. It just makes my black and hollow heart twitch with somthing akin to joy! Oh how I do love giving the little children of the world such nightmares.

NOW! After that, I give you a chapter devoted almost entirely to characters you care NOTHING about! But pay attention, because it has important plot points! For those of you who don't understand the term 'plot'... You can most likely find a few stories better suited to you in the rest of the Invader Zim section.

Mind you, the last segment was slightly rushed. So it may seem slightly off.

Best will and grand wishes,

Zamri

_Blood for Blood_

He laid out across the heavy throne, staring blankly into the space before him, whispering softly under his breath... His lids were heavy, and his antennae dull, but he heard the soft clipping of metal along with the drag of leather across the stone flooring... Reaching out a hand, he rested it apon the creatures head, stroking it as one would an oversized feline, his actions answered with a purr.

"We felled another sector today Patch...another group of the rats, hiding out in Plookesia... They were breeding too... Foolish things...Trying to stop the inevitable from happening. Our troops made short work of them...Unfortunately, they were smart enough to destroy all communications equipment...Nothing could be salvaged my pet..." The creature reguarded him with confusion, blinking it's organic eye as he waved his statement on.

"Still no links to the location of the base...They've been getting organized... Not just random rebellions...System...They strike now you know, little raids, gathering food, freeing slaves...Meaningless..." The Patch nuzzled gently at his hand, making a questioning sound, as Tsier simply closed his eyes, giving himself in to the dark, and letting the shadows of sleep consume him...

"It's useless for them to fight it my pet...I will not be stopped..."

Patch settled against it's owners feet, antennae laying flat as it assumed it's posistion as watchdog...

"I will have blood for blood..."

_Survive for Failure_

They were gathered together, some of them simply relaxing, on thier way to a planet they knew little of... That's what they were going there for of course, to learn. As he smoothed out his blue uniform, he smiled nervouslly at a couple of his classmates, who snickered in return. Lowering his antennae, and averting his eyes, he tried to hold back the sigh.

"Hey Cael!" Antennae snapped up again, and his focus went to the door, and to the irken now entering it, tossing a couple bottles of what he could presume to be alcohol to his companions. Almost captivated, he could only stare at the charming male, with his bright smile, and eyes the color of an irken sunset... And he was -tall- at that... One would think he had the coding of a Tallest... So enthralled into his musings was he, that he nearly didn't hear the irken aside him snickering again... "Better keep an eye on your girlfriend Cael, he's liable to loose his nerve the first time he sees his own shadow!"

Blushing darkly, the shorter male tried to ignore the laughter that filled the small rec-room, feeling himself grow hot as Cael sat beside him, ensnaring him in his arms. "Lay off Vess, at least Tsier knows not to go fooling around with a blaster when the safety's off." This earned more snickers from the asembled group, as they recalled Vess's recent exploits with a loaded laser pistol that nearly took off his head...

"These people..." Tsier ventured, in a moment having the attention of the taller male... "They are peaceful...? Couldn't our Tallest have sent more experienced irkens to do this scouting...?" His fear was washed away easilly as Cael brushed a gloved hand over his antennae, smiling only for him, as he shook his head.

"Tallest Spork knows what he's doing Tsier... It's a training procedure, and yes, the Rat People of Blorch -are- peaceful, they try very hard to avoid conflict with outsiders...We aren't going to have any problems..."

Leaning into the other male's touch, Tsier sighed, and the irkens grasped one another's wrists, allowing the small chain-link bracelets there to interconnect. "I'm sorry Cael... I've just.. Just been so nervous... I'm being silly..."

How he relished the feel of the other irken against him, holding him tightly, the brush of antennae against his... With Cael by his side, Tsier was sure that he could do anything...

Together, the two of them would always triumph.

The surface of the planet was empty, and as far as they could see, little more than a desert... Cadets looked uneasy, sticking close to thier platoons and waiting for some sort of orders. The older irkens however, seemed just as confused, pausing to re-check the co-ordinates... Somthing was amiss, and that much could be clear.

Cael snickered, shaking his head. "Slagging fools...Can't even read directions properlly..." The younger irkens joined him, and soon the air was full of laughter, and jeers at the pilots... Tsier had begun to climb one of the smaller hills, wondering if perhaps some sort of life lay over it's side. His antennae twitched nervouslly, still finding somthing amiss... As he pulled himself up to a stand, looking out over the territory before him, a soft frown crossed his face... The sands in the distance went from red to black...

But the sand seemed to be ...moving? Eyes narrowed, then widened...Letting out a shout, which turned into a scream, the younger irken rounded, and began to run backword, falling into a roll down the hill... Antennae raised on end all around, as Cael moved quickly to gather up his fallen mate, a confused expression on his face as he kneeled over him... The sound that had seemed a faint hum only moments ago became a literal roar, and the two youths raised thier heads, Tsier's horrified whisper answering the question that had yet to be asked...

"Rats..."

"READY YOUR GUNS!"

"TO THE SHIPS!"

"Sirs! The engines! She won't start, I can't get her to start, somthing must have been wrong with the guage, the fuel's all out!"

"FIRE!"

"Commander! The guns, they won't fire!"

When had he fallen down? Why was his head screaming for him not to get up again...And why couldn't he see? Struggling to move, a sudden weight lifted free of him, the black fur that had clouded his vision now gone. His screams died on his lips, his eyes becoming wide as he took in the surroundings once again... The air was thick with the scent of musk, and heavy with blood... He stumbled up once again, watching as around him, his classmates fought, the rat's still pouring over the hills in what seemed an endless wave... He felt heavy, and his antennae didn't seem to be working right...

A wet crunch beneath his boot brought his senses back, and as his gaze fell, He scrambled back again, collapsing into another heavy body as he stared at what he knew once to be Vess, looking to have been torn open from inside outward... Spinning around again he found his gaze level with that of another Rat, and this time he found his voice, erupting from his throat in a violent scream.

The rat collapsed, and Tsier raised his head, cowering before the irken that towered above him, raised on mech-legs, eyes burning brightly... It extended it's hand, clasping his wrist... Cael, his face disernable for all the blood and mess covering it, Lifted him back to his feet...

"Survive Tsier."

Was the simple command...

And it was this one command, which sent him spiraling into hell.

"Almighty?"

The Irken dressed in blue shifted his eyes, not bothering to pause as he continued to stir his drink. "...Show him in..." A languid smile crossed his face as he turned, setting eyes apon the miserable looking creature kneeling before him... Half deaf, and nearly blind in his right eye, the scars that covered his frame would be long in healing, but medics had assured him they would with time... His mind however, they would not venture to guess at... "Tsier..."

A blank stare, into nothingness... He'd been nearly catatonic for the last week the reports said, but did show signs of awareness... This did nothing to change the Tallest's mood however, as he simply sipped his drink, hovering closer to the broken soldier... "I must extend to you, on behalf of the empire, my gratitude for the courage you've shown..." He turned, not seeming too concerned with his own words as he closed his eyes... "It's quite admirable... You, the only survivor... But I would expect nothing less from a product of my own genes..."

"You told them it was a fire."

Spork's eyes opened again, mildly surprised at the haunted whisper that escaped the irken before him... Not caring to show his surprise, he waved it off... "Of course... The moral of the irken people is somthing we must consider... It would be greatly unfortunate to let them think a -lesser- species could really best any irkens..." His smile grew as he felt the room seem to chill, the accusing eyes resting solely on him...

"They say you will not let me die..."

"Of course not...You're too strong for that... Though I do hear you've made several attempts to prove me wrong..." He shook a claw at him gently, as if scolding a smeet... "It isn't right to go trying to prove a Tallest wrong...I intend for you to live for a -very- long time...Certainly you shouldn't be felled for somthing as menial as -this-!"

Tsier rose quickly, disreguarding the pain that shot through him at the motion. "Menial! My classmates, my comrades, friends, hatchery brothers and sisters, my MATE! They're DEAD! GONE!"

Spork raised a brow, still looking rather unconcerned... "Are they?" Returning to his drink, he watched as the other male shook, his anger draining away his energy, and leaving him once again, a wasted shell of a being... "Well...It's been quite...illuminating, talking with you...But I'm afraid that I do have matters to attend to my dear boy... An Empire to run... And you, as I understand, have a few more treatments to go to..."

Still smiling pleasently, Spork went so far as to wave when the guards dragged the boy out, not waiting for him to be out of sight before he turned back to the screen, and the Planet Jacker's who stared in the door's direction... "You see?"

"Irkens, Can survive anything."

_Puzzle Pieces, Dominoes, and Jacks_

The small alien had no knowledge of what was contained within these disks, though it had been ordered throughout the alliance to bring anything holding such symbols to his eminence immeadiately. It was a twisted version of an old irken logo, with antennae dropped off at it's sides, a sideways oval kept in it's center. But he made his way with haste, reguardless, simply hoping that if nothing else, the thanks would be well worth the trip.

Indeed, our little alien friend, unimportant plot device though he may be, was well rewarded for his efforts, and moved quickly off to his own business. He never mattered much anyhow.

Patch, startled by Tsier's apparent urgency, narrowed it's organic eye focusing on it's master as he placed the disk into a nearly abandoned computer console, keying up it's information. The aged screen flickered a moment, and coming into view was a young irken female... But without secound guessing, the bow atop her head gave it away...Wiping oil out from underneath her goggles, before raising them above her eyes, the recorded imagery smiled, and began to speak.

"Orders have finally been approved, our Almighty Tallest Miyuki giving permission for this team to construct our datafile. This project, we have termed as the Total Analog of Historical Knowledge... My partner, happilly reffers to it as the THAN. This project is by far one of the most complicated our team has undertaken, wishing to obtain, catalog, and preserve, -all- of irken history. Biology, Phyisiology, History, Science, Progress, Information on culture, architecture, technology. Everything."

She seemed to glow for a moment, the smile growing across her face. "In this way, we will be assured the preservation of things lost, abandoned, or forgotten... Irk, and her species will also be cataloged, providing the first complete documentation of a world, it's contents, and people, in the history of all the universe. In this way, we are assured, the Irken race, and it's Empire, shall never be gone from this existance."


	4. Whispers in Hollow Minds

Top of Form 1

_Wow. You know, I had actually chalked this up to being one of my 'Will die, be swept under the carpet, and never looked at again' type fanfics, but then suddenly someone sent me a review. ...Which makes TWO on people suck at leaving reviews... So I figured, if someone is actually reading this, I may as well let them know what the sprik is going on...SO! Amazingly enough, I've gone and continued a long-idled fanfic!_

_Now if only 'No day but Today' was so lucky. oO_

_Lesson is... Reviews make stupid authors write!_

_Z_

_(In Addition, if anyone can figure out how to make sense of these bloody editors, let me know, but for now, I use C to make breaks or scene changes. ..Wow that's gonna look shoddy..)_

Mind of the Mad

She spun about in circles as she sung, a sort of sing-songy nonsense that most never had the opportunity or desire to broach. Her laughter broke through the halls, a maddened cackle, hysterical with the glee of things one might never imagine... He came rushing in, startled, perhaps worried even, grasping the little woman by the shoulders, the youth, with eyes a much duller green than she, trying to at least slow her down, for fear of her injuring herself. "Professor! Professor Zamri! Please, Professor, keep quiet, please professor! They say...it's horrible! Tallest Spork, he's dead!"

The laughter bubbled out of her louder than before as she stared back at the youth, eyes blazing with a terrifying fire. "Jealousy kills!" Pulling away she spun delightedly... "Oh the fool has fallen and we'll be free forever! Dairsee, dailaina!"

He could hardly speak, instead gazing in amazement at his professor, unsure of how to take such an outburst... Zam however, continued to spin round in a delighted manner, giggling with a twisted sort of glee, repeating 'Jealousy Kills' over and over again... Sometimes Karven wondered why the small woman captivated him so... Why he would go to such links, to keep a mad woman free...

He was never to find the answer.

C

She had stopped him again, suddenly breaking away, and leaving him alone in the dark, slipping off to scribble down notes on her damnable robots... He hated those projects, hated the way they took her from him, tore her from his arms, and kept her away for hours or days, only to round on him again, demanding... She loved him did she not...? How could she not? All he had given to her! She had him, what need had she for anything more...

It kept him now, simmering, her voice, softly accented in it's strange tones... The vision of her eyes, burning with a chemical sort of fire leveling him as she spoke... Her work was her love, and would always be... Remember the warnings, remember them, You should never be jealous. But he wasn't, he was bitter, he was -angry-. How could something that would never hold her as he did, love her, or speak to her, hold more worth than he himself!

He stalked the halls of the labyrinth, knowing his way with ease, and avoiding the skittering creatures or machines that followed or passed him... Down here, here she lived, for nowhere else was she allowed... The young Tallests had been fearful of her increasing madness, knowing what her former partner had done, and wanting to prevent it from happening once more. His musings had taken enough time, and he knew where she was... Passed out over the final plans, the perfected models...

They were ready for him to send to the council for her... another successful project, another of her loves...He pushed the warnings from his mind...

C

It would be several days later, when Zam noted the reports, and the name across them.

Her eyes traversed over the information again, as her hearts began to sink... There was a mistake, a simple problem that was all... The head of the technological council would change the misprint quickly, and all would be understood...

But it was never to be...

He laughed at her, and her hearts became cold...

She refused to look at him as he told her, explained that he had indeed taken them...She should see! These projects, what did it matter? HE mattered. Not the credit, not the work... Her hearts went black...her eyes burned through him...Karven shuddered as she stared, saying not a word, as she pointed to the doors behind him... His anger swelled, but he still spun, walking away from his own obsession, his maddened beauty...

C

He never saw it coming... The sparks shot through him, not only sending him back, but somehow further loosening the bits of metal he had been working with... As he fell, his mind addled, he had no thoughts of trying to stop the impact... The wind knocked from him as he landed, and the heavy plating fell after him, pinning him securely to the floor... His initial scream for assistance seemed to be answered, as soft footfalls met his antennae...

She stood for a moment above him, before kneeling down, and gazing deep into his eyes...The look which burned within them was chilling, holding him in a frozen state... "You want..." she whispered... "Me to love you..."

Weeks ago he would have said yes, he would have screamed it out... But as her gloved hands traversed his face, he wanted nothing more than to escape her that moment, be it from death or no... Her smile was all the less encouraging... "I love my work Karven..."

She stood slowly... "This bit here... I calculated it to keep you alive...Long enough to think over what you've done... Of course, you'll find that with a severed spine, you can't do much more than think... But we'll talk more in a few days...I've a fascinating new bit of ideas...You've of course, read the theories of Erisk? Overcoming death...Fascinating stuff..."

He felt the blood drain, slow and methodical... It would take hours for his death... And still he heard her stop at the door, and swore he caught the spiteful whisper...

"Jealousy kills."

Broken Swings and Fading Dreams

"Will you -please- slow down!"

He wanted to keep on of course, the smeetling had no wishes to stop, or slow for anyone at all, much less his 'nurse'. Turning round again, Crimson was delighted to find Lavien following slowly behind Skoodge, walking at a normal pace, as compared to the former Invaders scurried steps to keep up with his charge... Perhaps it was this reason alone that he finally stopped, grinning back at the adults... He knew that something would certainly be interesting today... Lavien was out during the wake time, and that never happened...

The smeet always found pride in the way the other irkens averted their eyes as Lavien walked the halls, never really understanding they turned not from respect, but from unease at the deformities he carried... Crimson never stopped to think about it, after all, Lavien had been that way since he hatched, he had no reason to puzzle over it, or think things should have been another way... It simply didn't matter... Spinning around in a delighted manner, Crimson refused to acknowledge the disheartened looks around the ship. They didn't concern him, never had, never should.

Truth be told, to say the smeet led a sheltered life would have been a vast understatement. Since his hatching, he had been guarded like nothing less than a precious jewel, growing in the care of the second in command, and seeing his parent fall further into a sort of twisted dream. Lavien, from what Skoodge had said, was very ill by the time he got to majesty...Oh he had listened to the stories... Lavien had escaped some great trap, or ran from some scary demon, the boy couldn't quite remember what... Skoodge had come across him when his ship had crashed almost on top of the tiny pocket of rebel irkens... Tiny of course, meaning that the Elite started with four... Wyl, his mate, Viearayvenen(V), Skoodge, and Lavien himself.

They stayed where they were for a time, afraid to move for Lavien's illness, and his chances of losing the smeet he carried... Just before Crimson was born however, something had chased the group from the haven they had made for themselves... By now however, they had picked up a very faint signal... Skoodge spoke often of how they came across Majesty, the way she sparkled amongst the stars like a goddess, the smooth metal cut sharply in gleaming silver and black...

Crimson could see the longing in his eyes as he spoke of the insignia burned into the side, and how the hopes of the crew soared at the simple sight of such a ship... The smeet was told that this had once been a very special ship... Not like the Massive some of the elders spoke of, which was an immense war-ship... This was a cruiser, a safe-guard, and getaway, designed for the Almighty Tallests... Skoodge also liked to talk about what they found on the ship, and how he rescued Gen from her prison...

But something Skoodge never -did- talk about was the Tallests, which was a subject of curiosity...Of course, they boy would have forgotten about them easily if it didn't seem so...Special...

He was pleased with himself now however, Lavien letting him sit in on a meeting... Glancing from each of the gathered adults, and keeping in his curious musing... He watched Pita for a while, the tiny smeet held in her mothers arms... And reasoned also, to ask Skoodge later why most of the irkens having smeets weren't girls like Gen. His antennae perked, there it was again, Someone whispering 'Great Tallests' under thier breath as if it was a dark curse...

Trying to assert his intelligence...And of course Crimson was positive that he was indeed, Quite Intelligent, for a three-year old, he raised up his voice, surprised that the question turned every head in the small makeshift conference room...

"Who were they?"

He was surprised perhaps, that Lavien responded in Skoodge's stead... "...Who...?"

Crimson shifted uncomfortably, now not so sure he wanted all the attention... "...Tallests...Nobody ever tells me who they are...And...I...just wanna know..." It seemed odd, the heavy silence that fell around the table, gazes given uncomfortably to Lavien, as if they really weren't sure if they should voice thoughts on the subject... It was Gen, who spoke finally, her whispers soft and gentle, reminding Crimson of when she tried to explain to him what was keeping Wyl's other egg from hatching...But this wasn't like death...

"The Tallest...They were the leaders of the Irken Empire...They were... Supposed to be in charge of things, make sure the irkens did what they should, and find new places for irkens to live...They were the voice and heart of our race...Every irken listened to them, and did what they asked...To better the race..."

Crimson just blinked, staring back at the female who's eyes never rose from the table... Not quite satisfied with the answer, he frowned.. "Didn't do a very good job did they?"

The ice around the table was there again, people shifting in discomfort...

"...No...No Crimson...The Tallests...didn't do a very good job..." Lavien had moved from his folded position in the too-small chair to stand and gaze at a few charts on the walls...

"The Tallests we had were very foolish, and rather greedy...They were more concerned with entertaining themselves than bothering to really work on the safety and well-being of their people...I... Don't think they ever really understood how much damage they were doing... Many creatures would say they were very cruel... And none would be wrong in that statement..."

Looking back at Crimson, with something the smeet didn't understand...A question begging forgiveness, the hushed whisper was the last of the meeting, as the smeet was compelled to run to, and embrace his parents legs...

"If they had any idea...of what they would bring to their people...If they could have seen what would happen... I think they surely would have tried harder...Would...have thought more for the future, than for themselves..."

Want Can't Have

He watched him in silence, speaking softly to the smeet still, holding the child as if either of them might break with the wrong movement... It was moments like this that made him want to scream curses at the heavens, watching this creature before him, an irken stronger, and at the same time, more fragile than any he had ever seen, and knowing that no matter what position he held, no matter how much he cared for either he, or his son, neither would ever truly belong to him...

He knew she followed him, but never acknowledged her...

He took care of Lavien himself, gave him his name, kept him well, kept him alive... It was he who was there for every nightmare, for every fit of pain and grief... For the feverish ramblings, the attempts to escape... He who held him as he cried, seeing Majesty for the first time in so very long...

The bitter ache in his hearts did not belong here... The respect, and admiration he had garnered for his captain should never have turned into this...He should never have begun to look at the ruby eyed smeet, wishing desperately it was his own... Thinking that he might deserve such things... He cared for them both, and still did, holding charge over the smeet, as Lavien drifted in and out of the conscious world... He should have the love he had earned...

He should not be here now, sitting in his small room, huddled quietly on his bed, and trying to hold back the tears that sought to come... He should not be leaning into Gen as she offers her arms...It should be Lavien, who stroked his antennae in such a comfort, not a blind girl...

Gen would hold him through another time, until he was ready to talk again, to tell her of his hopeless dreams, and she would listen, offering gentle advice, and comfort... Holding back the ache that frosted her own hearts, as she thought of her friend, all the while cursing herself for her gratefulness... His own wishes left ungranted, allowed her a closeness she would not have otherwise.

Sometimes, Gen wished she had lacked the ability to feel, in the stead of her sight.

Top of Form 3


End file.
